should not make a heart glad and drive away all fear of sin,
death and hell, and establish a free, secure and good con-
science that will henceforth gladly do all and more than is
commanded.
29. The Evangelist, however, altered the words of the
prophet slightly. The prophet says in Zech. 9, 9 : "Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem :
behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having sal-
vation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt, the
foal of an ass." The Evangelist expresses the invitation to
joy and exultation briefly in these words: "Tell the daughter
of Zion." Further on he leaves out the words : "just and having
salvation." Again the prophet says, "he is lowly," the Evan-
gelist, "he is meek." The prophet says : "upon the colt, the
foal of an ass," he mentions the last w^ord in the plural number ;
the Evangelist says : "upon the colt, the foal of an ass that is
used for daily and burden-bearing labor." How shall we har-
monize these accounts?
30. First, we must keep in mind that the Evangelists do
not quote the prophets word by word, it is enough for them
to have the sanie meaning and to show the fulfillment, direct-
ing us to the Scriptures so that we oifrselves may read, what
they omit, and see for ourselves that nothing was written which
is not richly fulfilled. It is natural, also, that- he who has the
substance and the fulfillment, docs not care so much for the
words. Thus we often find that the Evangelists quote the
?j{} lutiikr'vS church postil.
prophets somewhat changed, yet it is done without detriment
to the understanding- and intent of the original.
31. To invite tlie daughter of Zion and the daughter of
Jerusalem to joy and gladness the prophet abundantly gives
us to understand that the coming of this king is most com-
forting to every sin-burdened conscience, since he removes all
fear and trembling, so that men do not flee from him and
look upon him as a severe judge, who will press them with the
law, as Moses did, so that they could not have a joyful confi-
dence in God, as the knowledge and realization of sin naturally
come from the law. But he would arouse them with this first
word to expect from him all grace and goodness. For what
other reason should he invite them to rejoice and command
them even to shout and be exceeding glad ! He tells this com-
mand of God to all who are in sorrow and fear of God. He
also shows that it is God's will and full intent, and demands
that they entertain joyful confidence in him against the natural
fear and alarm. And this is the natural voice of the Gospel
which the prophet here begins to preach, as Christ speaks like-
wise in the Gospel and the apostles always admonish to rejoice
in Christ, as we shall hear further on.
It is also full of meaning that he comes from the Mount of
Olives. We shall notice that this grace on account of its great-
ness might be called a mountain of grace, a grace which is not
only a drop or handful, but grace abundant and heaped up
like a mountain.
32. He mentions the people twice while the Evangelist
says only once, daughter of Zion. For it is one people, daugh-
ter of Zion and daughter of Jerusalem, namely the people of
the same city, Avho believe in Christ and receive him. As i
said before, the Evangelist quotes the Scriptures only briefly
and invites us to read them ourselves and find out more there
for ourselves. That the Evangelist does not invite to joy like
the prophet, but simply says: Tell it to the daughter of Zion,
he does it to show how the joy and exultation shall be carried
on. None should expect bodily but spiritual joy, a joy that
can be gathered alone from the Word by the faith of the heart.
From a worldly aspect there was nothing joyful in Christ's en-
First Sunday in .\dvent. 31
trance, his spiritual advent must be preached and beheved ;
that is, his meekness ; this makes man joyful and glad.
33. That the prophet gives Christ three titles, lowly, j'ciet,
and having salvation, while the Evangelist has only one, meek,
is again done for brevity's sake, he suggests more than he ex-
plains. It seems to me that the Holy Ghost led the apostles and
evangelists to abbreviate passages of the Scriptures for the pur-
pose that we might be kept close to the holy Scriptures, and not
set a bad exemple to future exegetes, who make many words
outside the Scriptures and thereby draw us secretly from the
Scriptures to human doctrines. As to say: If I spread the
Scriptures verbatim everyone will follow the example and it
will come to pass that we would read more in other books than
in the holy writings of the principal book, and there would
be no end to the writing of books and we would be carried
from one book to another, until, finally, we would get away
from the holy Scriptures altogether, as has happened in fact.
Hence, Avith such incomplete quotations he directs us to the
original book where they can be found complete, so that there
is no need for everyone to make a separate book and leave
the first one.
34. We notice, therefore, that it is the intention of all the
apostles and evangelists in the New Testament to direct and
drive us to the Old Testament, which they call the Holy Scrip-
tures proper. For the New Testament was to be only the
incarnate living Word and not scripture. Hence Christ did not
write anything himseii, but gave the command to preach and
extend the Gospel, which lay hidden in the Scriptures, as we
shall ^"»ear on Epiphany Sunday.
35. In the Hebrew language the two words meek and
lowly do not sound unlike, and mean not a poor man who is
wanting in money and property, but who in his heart is humble
and wretched, in whom truly no anger nor haughtiness is to
be found, but meekness and sympathy. And if we wish to
obtain the full meaning of this word, we must take it as Luke
uses it, who describes how Christ at his entrance wept and
wailed over Jerusalem.
We interpret therefore the words lowly and meek in the
32 . LUTIIKR^S CHURCH POSTIL
light of Christ's conduct. How does he appear? His heart is
full of sorrow and compassion toward Jerusalem. There is no
anger or revenge, but he weeps out of tenderness at their im-
pending doom.. No'ne was so bad that he did or wished him
harm. His sympathy makes him so kind and full of pity that
he thinks not of anger, of haughtiness, of threatening or re-
venge, but offers boundless compassion and good will. This
is what the prophet calls lowly and the Evangelist meek.
Blessed he who thus knows Christ in him and believes in him.
He cannot be afraid of him, but has a true and comforting
confidence in him and entrance to him. He does not try to
find fault either, for as he believes, he finds it ; these words do
not lie nor deceive.
36. The word "just" does not mean here the justice with
which God judges, which is called the severe justice of God.
For if Christ came to us with this who could stand before him ?
Who could receive him, since even the saints cannot endure it ?
The joy and grace of this entrance would thereby be changed
into the greatest fear and terror. But that grace is meant,
by which he makes us just or righteous. I wish the word
Justus, justitia, were not used for the severe judicial justice;
for originally it means godly, godliness. When we say, he
is a pious man, the Scriptures express it, he is Justus, justifieci
or just. But the severe justice of God is called in the Scrip-
tures: Severity, judgment, tribunal.
The prophet's meaning, therefore, is this: Thy king Com-
eth to thee pious or just, i. e., he comes to make you godly
through himself and his grace; he knows well that you are
not godly. Your piety should consist not in your deeds, but
in his grace and gift, so that you are just and godly through
him. In this sense St. Paul speaks, Rom. B, 26 : ''That he might
himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus."
That is, Christ alone is pious before God and he alone makes
us pious. Also, Rom. 1, 17: "For therein is revealed a right-
eousness of God from faith unto faith," that is the godliness of
God, namely his grace and mercy, by which he makes us godly
before him, is preached in the Gospel. You see in this verse
from the prophet that Christ is preached for us unto righteous-
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 3B
ncss, that he comes godly and just, and we become godly and
just by faith.
37. Note this fact carefully, that when you find in the
Scriptures the word God's justice, it is not ro be understood
of the self-existing, imminent justice of God, as the Papists
and many of the fathers held, lest you be frightened; but,
according to the usage of Holy Writ, it means the revealed
grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ in us by means
of which we are considered godly and righteous before him.
Hence it is called God's justice or righteousness effected not
by us, but by God through grace, just as God's work, God's
wisdom, God's strength, God's word, God's mouth, signifies
what he works and speaks in us. All this is demonstrated
clearly by St. Paul, Rom. 1,16: "I am not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God (which works in
us and strengthens us) unto salvation to everyone that believ-
eth. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God," as it
is written in Hab. 2, 4 : ''The righteous shall live by his faith.'*
Here you see that he speaks of the righteousness of faith and
calls the same the righteousness of God, preached in the Gos-
pel, since the Gospel teaches nothing else but that he who
believes has grace and is righteous before God and is saved.
In the same manner you should understand Ps. 31, 1 :
''Deliver me in thy righteousness," i. e. by thy grace, which
makes me godly and righteous. The word Saviour or Re-
deemer compels us to accept this as the meaning of the little
word "just." For if Christ came with his severe justice he
would not save anyone, but condemn all, as they are all sin-
ners and unjust. But now he comes to make not only just
and righteous, but also blessed, all who receive him, that he
alone as the just one and the Saviour be offered graciously to
all sinners out of unmerited kindness and righteousness.
38. When the Evangelist calls his steed a burden-bearing
and working foal of an ass he describes the animal the proph-
ets mean. He wants to say: The prophecy is fulfilled in this
burden-bearing animal. It was not a special animal trained
for this purpose, as according to the country's custom riding
animals are trained, and when the prophet speaks of the foal
34 luthkr's church postil.
of the ass it is hi's meaning that it was a colt, but not a colt
of a horse.
IL CONCERNING GOOD WORKS.
39. We have said enough of faith. We now come to con-
sider good works. We receive Christ not only as a gift by
faith, but also as an example of love toward our neighbor,
whom we are to serve as Christ serves us. Faith brings and
gives Christ to you with all his possessions. Love gives you
to your neighbor with all your possessions. These two things
constitute a true and complete Christian life ; then follow suf-
fering and persecution for such faith and love, and out of these
grows hope in patience.
40. You ask, perhaps, w^liat are the good works you are
to do to your neighbor? Answer: They have no name. As
the good works Christ does to you have no name, so your good
works are to have no name.
41. W^hereby do you know them? Answer: They have no
name, so that there may be no distinction made and they be
not divided, that you might do some and leave others undone.
You shall give yourself up to him altogether, Vv' ith all you have,
the same as Christ did not sihiply pray or fast for you. Prayer
and fasting are not the works he did for you, but he gave
himself up wholly to you, with praying, fasting, all works and
suffering, so that there is nothing in him that is not yours
and was not done for you. Thus it is not your good work
that you give alms or that you pray, but that you offer yourselt
to your neighbor and serve him, wherever he needs you and
ever}^ way you can, be it with alms, prayer, work, fasting, coun-
sel, comfort, instruction, admonition, punishment, apologizing,
clothing, food, and lastly with suffering and dying for him.
Pray, where are now such works to be found in Christendom ?
42. I wish to God 1 had a voice like a thunderbolt, that
I might preach to all the world, and tear the word "gooa
works" out of people's hearts, mouths, ears, books, or at least
give them the right understanding of it. All the world sings,
speaks, writes and thinks of good works, everyone wishes to
exercise themselves in good works, and yet, good works are
First Sunday in advent. 35
done nowhere, no one has the right understanding of good
works. Oh, that all such pulpits in all the world were cast
into the fire and burned to ashes ! How they mislead people
with their good works ! They call good works what God has
not commanded, as pilgrimages, fasting, building and decorat-
ing thei'r churches in honor of the saints, saying mass, paying
for vigils, praying with rosaries, much prattling and bawling
in churches, turning nun, monk, priest, using special food,
raiment or dwelling, — who can enumerate all the horrible
abominations and deceptions? This i*s the pope's government
and holiness.
43. If you have ears to hear and a mind to observe, pray,
listen and learn for God's sake what good works are and
mean. A good work is good for the reason that it is useful
and benefits and helps the one for whom it is done; why else
should it be called good ! For there is a difference between
good works and great, long, numerous, beautiful works.
When you throw a big stone a great distance it is a great
w^ork, but whom does it benefit? If you can jump, run, fence
well, it is a fine work, but whom does it benefit ? Whom does
it help, if you wear a costly coat or build a fine house?
44. And to come to our Papists' work, what does it avail
if they put silver or gold on the walls, wood and stone in the
churches ? Who would be made better, if each village had ten
bells, as big as those at Erfurt? Whom would it help if all the
houses were convents and monasteries as splendid as the tem-
ple of Solomon? Vv^ho is benefited if you fast for St. Cathe-
rine, St. Martin or any other saint? Whom does it benefit, if
you are shaved half or wholly, if you wear a gray or a black
cap? Of what use were it if all people held mass every hour?
W^hat benefit is it if in one church, as at ]\Ieissen, they sing
day and night without interruption? Who is better for it, if
every church had more silver, pictures and jewelry than the
churches of Halle and Wittenberg? It is folly and deception,
men's lies invented these things and called them good works ;
they all pretend they serve God thus and pray for the people
and their sins, just as if they helped God with their property
or as if his saints wxre in need of our work. Sticks and stones
36 Luther's church postil.
are not as rude and mad as we are. A tree bears fruit, not
for itself, but for the good of man and beast, and these fruits
are its good works.
45. Hear then how Chri'st explains good works, Math. 7,
12 : ''Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even
so do ye unto them ; for this is the law and the prophets." Do
you hear now what are the contents of the whole law and of
all the prophets? You are not to do good to God and to his
dead saints, they are not in need of it; still less to wood and
stone, to which it is of no use, nor is it needed, but to men, to
men, to men. Do you not hear? To men you should do
everything that you would they should do to you.
46. I would not have you build me a church or tower or
cast bells for me. I would not have you construct for me an
organ with fourteen stops and ten rows of flute work. Of this
I can neither eat nor drink, support neither wife nor child,
keep neither house nor land. You may feast my eyes on these
and tickle my ears, but what shall I give to my children?
Where are the necessaries of life ? O madness, madness ! The
bishops and lords, who should check it, are the first in such
folly, and one blind leader leads the other. Such people remind
me of young girls playing with dolls and of boys riding on
sticks. Indeed, they are nothing but cliildren and players with
dolls, and riders of hobbyhorses.
47. Keep In mind, that you need not do any work for God
nor for the departed saints, but you ask and receive good from
him in faith. Christ has done and accomplished everything
for you, atoned for your sins, secured grace and life and sal-
vation. Be content with this, only think how he can become
more and more your own and strengthen your faith. Hence
direct all the good you can do and your whole life to the end
that it be good ; but it is good only when it is useful to other
people and not to yourself. You need it not, since Christ has
done and given for you all that you might seek and desire for
yourself, here and hereafter, be it forgiveness of sins, merit
of salvation or whatever it may be called. If you find a work
in you by which you benefit God or his saints or yourself and
not your neighbor, know that such a work is not good.
First Sunday in adv£;nt. 37
48. A man is to live, speak, act, hear, suffer and die for the
g^ood of his wife and child, the wife for the husband, the chil-
dren for the parents, the servants for their masters, the mas-
ters for their servants, the government for its subjects, the
subjects for the government, each one for his fellowman, even
for his enemies, so that one is the other's hand, mouth, eye,
foot, even heart and mind. This is a truly Christian and good
work, which can and shall be done at all times, in all places,
toward all people. You notice the Papists' works in organs,
pilgrimages, fasting, etc., are really beautiful, great, numerous,
long, wide and heavy works, but there is no good, useful and
helpful work among them and the proverb may be applied to
them: It is already bad.
49. But beware of their acute subtleties, when they say :
If these works are not good to our neighbor in his body, they
do spiritual good to his soul, since they serve God and pro-
pitiate him and secure his grace. Here it is time to say : You
lie as wide as }'our mouth. God is to be worshiped not with
works, but by faith, faith must do everything that is to be
done between God and us. There may be more faith in a miller-
boy than in all the Papists, and it may gain more than all
priests and monks do with their organs and jugglery, even if
they had more organs than these now have pipes. He who
has faith can pray for his fellowman, he who has no faith can
pray for nothing.
It is a Satanic lie to call such outward pomp spiritually
good and useful works. A miller's maid, if she believes, does
more good, accomplishes more, and I would trust her more,
if she takes the sack from the horse, than all the priests and
monks, if they kill themselves singing day and night and tor-
ment themselves to the quick. You great, coarse fools, would
you expect to help the people with your faithless life and
distribute spiritual goods, when there is on earth no more
miserable, needy, godless people than you are? You should
be called, not spiritual, but spiritless.
50. Behold, such good works Christ teaches here by his
example. Tell me what does he do to serve himself and to do
good to himself? The prophet directs all to the daughter of
88 Luther's church posth..
Zion and says : "He cometh to thee," and that he comes as a
Saviour, just and meek, is all for you, to make you just and
blessed. None had asked nor bidden him to come ; but he came,
he comes of his own free will, out of pure love, to do good and
to be useful and helpful.
Now his work is manifold, it embraces all that is necessary
to make us just and blessed. But justification and salvation
imply that he delivers us from sin, death, hell, and does it not
only for his friends, but also for his enemies, yea, for none but
his enemies, yet he does it so tenderly, that he weeps over those
who oppose such w^ork and w^ill not receive him. Hence he
leaves nothing undone to blot out their sin, conquer death avio
hell and make them just and blessed. He retains nothing for
himself, and is content that he already has God and is blessed,
— thus he serves only us according to the will of his father who
wishes him to do so.
51. See then how he keeps the law : "Whatsoever ye would
that men should do unto you, even so do ye unto them." Is it
not true, everyone heartily washes that another might step
between man and his sin, take it upon himself and blot it out,
so that it would no more sting his conscience, and deliver him
from death and hell? What does everyone desire more deeply
than to be free from death and hell ? Who would not be free
from sin and have a good, joyful conscience before God? Do
we not see how all men have striven for this, with prayer,
fastings, pilgrimages, donations, monasteries and priestdom?
Who urges them? It is sin, death, hell, from which they
w^ould be saved. And if there w^ere a physician at the end of
the world, who could help here, all lands would become de-
serted and every one w^ould hasten to this physician and risk
property, body and life to make the journey.
And if Christ himself, like we, were surrounded by death,
sin and hell, he would wish that some one w^ould help him out
of it, take his sin away and give him a good conscience. Since
he would have others do this for him, he proceeds and does
it for others, as the law says, he takes upon himself our sins,
goes hi to death and overcomes for us sin, death and hell, so
that henceforth all who believe in him, and call upon his name.
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 39
shall be justified and saved, be above sin and death, have a
good, joyful, secure and intrepid conscience forever, as he says
in John 8, 51 : "If a man keep my word, he shall never see
death," and John 11,25-26: ''I am the resurrection, and the
life; he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live,
and whosoever liveth and believeth on me, shall never die."
52. Behold, this is the great joy, to which the prophet in-
vites, when he says : ''Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem !" This is the righteousness
and the salvation for which the Saviour and King comes.
These are the good works done for us by which he fulfills the
law. Hence the death of the believer in Christ is not death
but a sleep, for he neither sees nor tastes death, as is said in
Ps. 4, 8 : "In peace will I both lay me down and sleep, for
thou, Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety." Therefore
death is also called a sleep in the Scriptures.
53. But the Papists and their disciples, who would get rid
of death, sin and hell by their own works and satisfaction,
must remain in them eternally for they undertake to do for
themselves what Christ alone did and could do, of whom they
should expect it by faith. Therefore they are foolish, deluded
people who do works for Christ and his saints, which they
should do for their neighbor. Again, what they should expect
of Christ by faith they would find in themselves and have gone
so far as to spend on stone and wood, on bells and incense
what they should spend on their neighbors. They go on and
do good to God and his saints, fast for them and dedicate to
them prayers, and at the same time leave their neighbor as he
is, thinking only, let us first help ourselves ! Then comes the
pope and sells them his letter of indulgence and leads them
into heaven, not into God's heaven, but into the pope's heaven,
which is the abyss of hell. Behold, this is the fruit of unbelief
and ignorance of Christ, this is our reward for having left
the Gospel in obscurity and setting up human doctrine in its
place. I repeat it, I wish all pulpits in the world lay in ashes,
and the monasteries, convents, churches, hermitages and chap-
els, and everything were ashes and powder, because of this
shameful misleading of souls.
40 i,utitkr's church posth..
54. Now you know what good works are. Think of it and
act accordingly. As to sin, death and hell, take care that
you augment them not, for you cannot do anything here,
your good works will avail nothing, you must have some one
else to work for you. To Christ himself such works properly
belong, you must consent to it that he who comes is the king
of Zion, that he alone is the just Saviour. In him and through
him you will blot out sin and death through faith. Therefore,
if anyone teaches you to blot out your own sin by works,